Chapter 2- A Misunderstanding

Opening my eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling with an incomplete memory of the night before should have scared me, but there was only one thing that came to mind, I did it. After sitting in bed and looking around, it became clear this was a hotel room. This must be Le Bova, but how did I make it here? I remember making it out of the park center and feeling sick because of the pheromones. I thought that it forced me into a heat cycle, but my cycle usually lasts around four days without any inhibitors, and it's only been a few hours.

Maybe that is just how omegas react when exposed to pheromones? It's times like these that make me really feel my ignorance of the way the world works. My mom was an Omega, but she passed away well before my second gender presented itself. My dad and brothers are all Alphas, and they kept me practically under lock and key once I presented. With no one to ask it's no wonder I'm so clueless. This is no time to feel sorry for yourself, get it together. That's right, this is a fresh start. I can learn what I don't know slowly, take my time to find my place in the world, and be free from restraint. 

Getting out of bed I decided to take a shower and fuck did it feel nice. Using the travel sized toiletries offered by the hotel I lathered my hair and scrubbed my body. After rinsing myself off and stepping out of the shower I noticed a little bin of complimentary bath bombs on the sink. Man, this place isn't $200 a night for nothing, huh? Taking two of them and heading over to the jacuzzi style bath, I plopped them in and began filling the tub.

Wrapping my hair in a towel and quickly grabbing my tablet to play some music, I dimmed the lights and slipped into the tub. Ahhhh, that's the stuff. Sinking down and leaning back, I let the hot water and bath bomb mixture soak away the fatigue that had built up in my muscles. My mind became overwhelmingly calm, and my heart felt refreshingly still. This feels familiar. Ah, what does it matter? Embracing this sense of security and warmth, I let myself drift off into one of the best naps I have ever had. 

Hmmmm, so warm. This feels amazing, and it smells so good. I feel so safe. Just a few more minutes and then I'll wake up. Or so I thought. Suddenly, the feeling of a warm blanket being placed over me, and my hair towel being removed jolted me fully awake. Not wanting to open my eyes for fear of who I would see at the bedside, I decided to feign sleep a little longer to see if they would go away. At least, that was the plan.

"I know you're awake, so open your eyes."

Who is this? I don't recognize this voice. It's so deep and sultry, it's smooth like butter.

"Well, have it your way then. How about this? I am going downstairs to get you some breakfast. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Laying perfectly still, my heart couldn't help beating just a little faster as he spoke. It's strange, this isn't anxiety or fear, it's almost like... Excitement. This mystery man brushed away a few loose strands of hair that had fallen into my face and attempted to re-wrap my hair in a dry towel. He brushed the back of his hand against my cheek, and then he left the room. 

Only daring to open my eyes after the hotel door shut, I sat straight up in bed. What the hell is going on? Who is this man? Maybe I should feel fear, I spent practically three hours of the night getting away from my dad, but I feel safe. That's right! This is Le Bova, they do not let Alpha's stay here or even enter the premises. This must be one of the hotel staff. Considering there's no memory of arriving here at the hotel, I must have been in a sorry state. He must be another omega who helped me, and when he came to check on me, I was asleep in the bath. Worried, he must have helped me to bed. That's the only logical explanation! 

Getting out of bed and putting on some clothes, I went into the bathroom and dried my hair. Throwing it up in a messy bun I quickly brushed my teeth and then went to make the bed. Huh, the bed isn't even very damp. He must have dried me off before laying me down. Sitting on top of the freshly made bed, I decided to look through my tablet while waiting for my breakfast. Looking through different job postings became a hobby of mine.

My plan is to try to get out of this city before getting a job, or at least finding a job that would allow me to stay out of sight of customers. If dad, Jayce, or Cal show up they would surely drag me back home and force me into that marriage. First things first, I need to find somewhere that I can alter my appearance. Afterward I suppose getting a new ID and finding a new doctor would be important. My previous doctor was nice, but he was friends with my dad. Finding someone trustworthy, slowly building connections, these are things I need to do as soon as possible. 

The sound of the door opening jolted me from my thoughts. The smell of sausage and waffles filled my nostrils, and I became painfully aware of how hungry I was. Not being able to suppress the excitement at my meal, a huge smile spread across my face.

"I know it's because of the food, but hopefully you will smile like that at me soon, too" he said, handing me the plate of food.

Grabbing the plate of food, my fingers brushed against his and my entire body froze in place. 

Looking at him for the first time, this man before me was very tall, probably taller than both my brothers and maybe even my dad. His dark brown hair was wavy and fell slightly over the tips of his ears. The green eyes looking straight at me were deep yet full of life, like a grass meadow basking in the sun after it rained.

Lightly caressing his cheeks and nose were faint freckles, almost unnoticeable unless you were looking for them. His eyelashes were so long it made me want to reach my hand out and brush my thumb over them. Looking down to his lips my heart couldn't help but skip a beat. My eyes couldn't move from the soft pink skin, and my thoughts unknowingly wandered to one single point - I want to know what he tastes like.

"Helloooo? Anyone home?" he said melodically with a slight snicker on his face, while waving his hand ever so slightly in front of me.

The words left my lips before I knew it, "Who are you?". 

Taking the plate of food from this man, I decided to stuff my face and forget that I even said anything. He sat in a chair across from me, his long legs crossed, leaning against the arm of the chair with his chin resting on his fist. He stared at me intensely while I was eating, my question still left unanswered, and nothing but silence filled the room. Strangely enough this did not make it uncomfortable. In fact, it felt like I found something that I did not even know I was missing. While I did not necessarily want this guy to up and leave my room, I could not help but wonder why a staff member at this hotel was sitting here. Finishing the last few bites of sausage, I sat the plate on the nightstand and took a drink of water. Now that breakfast is done, it is time for some answers. 

"Uh, sir, thank you for the meal and making sure I got situated okay when I arrived at the hotel, but are you sure it's okay to just be sitting here? Don't you have to get back to work?"

I asked, unsure of how to navigate a conversation. He chuckled softly, uncrossed his legs, and leaned forward.

"Who do you think I am?" was his only response.

Who do I think you are? What the hell question is that? Now I am just getting frustrated.

"Well, you are clearly a staff member at this hotel, are you not? It's my first time at an Omega only hotel, well any hotel for that matter, but any way, I assume you helped me get into a room when I managed to stumble into the lobby early this morning."

The silence that followed was way more deafening than it should have been. His look changed from a hint of amusement to that of slight confusion.

"This is not an omega only hotel. I would not be allowed into one, much less work there. You were trying to leave the park last night when you wandered up to me and then passed out. I brought you to this hotel and looked after you."

Wait... What? Is this not Le Bova? Where the hell am I? What happened? 

After some more questions and wracking my brain to try to remember the events of the last ten hours, everything became a little clearer.

"Okay... I think I remember," I began cautiously, "I know that I was affected by all the pheromones in the park and began feeling sick. I didn't have inhibitors with me, so my plan was to run to the hotel as fast as possible. I remember feeling safe suddenly, and then I woke up here.

So, you're saying that in my fucked-up state I basically went for the first Alpha I could? That does not make any sense. I don't even know how to differentiate between pheromones, much less pick out an Alpha! I was practically naked when I woke up this morning! What did you do to me? You carried my naked and sleeping body from the bath to the bed? Why?!"

I couldn't stop myself from panicking. Speaking aloud the events of last night led to questions, and those questions led to more questions. That's right. Maybe dad was right all along. I am a weak Omega who needs to be protected. I should not have run away; this is not okay. I was naive, I should not have left the safe-

"-wan, Rowan, Rowan!" 

Confused and scared, I looked at the man who was calling me.

"How do you know my name?"

I asked, tears spilling over my cheeks. He tried to move closer to me, and on instinct I recoiled further onto the bed. His movements were that of a man trying not scare away a precious deer, or maybe they were the movements of a predator trying to gain the trust of his prey. Thoughts of the few times I insisted on going out on my own in the past ran through my mind. 

The first time I made it to a cafe downtown, and while my order was being prepared, I was asked to wait at a table outside because of the indoor crowd. Waiting outside, a group of tall burly men approached me, and insisted I follow them down a nearby ally. Frozen in fear, Elliot showed up and took me home. The second time was to a nearby park in the neighborhood, I just wanted some fresh air. The same thing happened, except it was "Get in the car" instead of "follow us down this street". 

I learned later that dad was paying some of his alpha friends to show up and scare me, he was hoping if he made the outside world seem as scary as he made it out to be I would stop trying to go anywhere alone. The opposite happened, however. Instead of becoming afraid of the outside world, fear of what he would do to me and how far he would go took root. This must be another of those times. He knows where I am. He is going to show up any moment. 

"I looked for your wallet after bringing you to this hotel room so I could find out your name. My name is Oliver, and I promise I am not here to hurt you. I just came to Portland to visit some family for the New Year and happened to find you at the park. I could smell your pheromones, and I was able to tell that you were afraid. Without realizing it I walked a little closer to you and released some of my own to try calming you down. You ended up looking at me with relief and walked over, then passed out. 

I just felt like I had to take care of you, so I brought you back here to Windsor, the hotel I am staying at. My room is right next to yours, so after laying you in bed and releasing my own pheromones until you looked better, I went back to my room. I checked on you a few times, and when I saw you sleeping soundly, I decided not to risk waking you up and stayed in mine the rest of the night. The reason you did not have your shirt and pants on is because your shirt wreaked of alcohol-" 

That's right, that drunkard ran into me and spilled her entire drink over my back. I guess that makes sense. 

"-and when you passed out in front of me, though I did manage to catch you before you fell all the way, your pants got covered in snow and became wet. I did not want you to catch a cold, so I only took off what I needed to and covered you with a blanket. When I came into the bedroom with breakfast earlier this morning you were peacefully napping in a freshly drawn bath. I decided to let you rest some and I stayed there to make sure you didn't slide under the water. 

Your breakfast was about to get cold, so I decided to eat it while waiting, and when I noticed that some time had passed, I took you out of the bath because the water was no longer warm. I wrapped you in a towel and laid you in bed, then I noticed you had woken up. That brings us to where we are now." 

Wow. Okay, so that answers all my questions and makes sense. I can't particularly explain why, but I believe everything he is saying. I let out the breath I had been holding, sat a little closer to the edge of bed, and looked at him. He seems more relaxed too.

"So... You aren't some random Alpha hired by my dad to scare me to punish me for running away. That's a relief"

I stated more to myself than to him. His expression turned angry, and while it put me on edge, the anger didn't seem directed at me.

"What did you just say?" he asked, clenching his teeth. 

I spent the next hour explaining to him my situation. Without going into detail, I told him how my treatment at home was strict, and that my decision to run away was so that I could experience the world and lead my own life. Eventually we began talking about trivial things.

I learned that Oliver's favorite color was a deep blue, like the deep sea. He prefers reading over watching TV, working out, and cooking. He enjoys dabbling in photography as well. Even his favorite smell, which is some flower called Freesia. Apparently, his mother loves flowers and growing up he had always been around them. He is twenty-seven years old and is visiting from New York. I am happy to know more about him, but this also makes me feel sad.

"What's wrong Row?"

Row? What's up with the nickname?

"Nothing, just that you have experienced so much of the world. Here I am, knowing practically nothing. I must seem stupid, huh?". Unable to hold back them back as I spoke, tears started streaming down my cheeks.